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be justified and that the firm should be allowed to continue to
operate at their present premises without further hindrance.
4. For the local planning authority, it was stated that the
chemical works was an industrial undertaking occupying a
salient projecting into an extensive residential area. For many
years your clients' factory had been a cause of continuing complaint
by local residents. Smell always surrounded the works
and particularly objectionable odours arose during the manufacture
of certain chemicals. The houses near the works were
to be demolished and the area redeveloped : it would be fundamentally
unsound to build an estate of modern expensive houses
beside a factory which was a constant source of nuisance, and
it would be ndesirable to reduce the amount of land available
for huusing by creating a light industrial or open space zone
between the new houses and the chemical works. Moreover, an
area to the rth of the works had recently been purchased at
considerable xpense as a public open space providing a fine
setting for the new Town Hall and the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey,
and the implement made by this redevelopment could be
seriously marred by the continued presence of the chemical
works. The Council were satisfied, therefore, that the only solution
to the problem was to remove the works from their present
position. The stage had now been reached when your clients
must rebuild their factory and it was submitted that this was
the proper tir to move to another site. It was appreciated that
the relocation of a factory was always difficult and costly, but
on this case there were no insuperable difficulties and re-siting
would have the advantages of avoiding piecemeal rebuilding
during production and of making it possible to build a compact
factory on a single undivided site. It was understood that land
was available River Road, near the mouth of Barking Creek,
Once the works had been vacated they could be given over to
light industry now in the central area of Barking, which would
from a useful buffer between the residential district to the east
and the factories on the west side of Abbey Road.
5. Representations were made by a number of local residents,
who complained about intolerable smells, damage to paintwork
materials, sparks from the chimneys and noises late at night.
6. The Minister has carefully considered the facts of the case
and the representations made. He agrees with the Council that
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